The crash
by MusicalTB2
Summary: What has happened to Jeff and how did it affect the boys when they found out? Rights belong to ITV and Anderson. One-shot. The boys do not belong to me but I wish they did.


Jeff packed the last of his things and headed out to the jet to pack them down, he nodded with a final check then returned to the lounge where his sons, mother and adopted children were mingling, Jeff laid his hand on Virgil's shoulder before sitting at his desk to face the others.  
"You ready to go dad?" John asked.  
"Yes John. Just put my last case into the jet."  
Virgil looked up from the piano "how long are you going for dad?"  
Jeff turned and smiled at his second eldest, he knew Virgil worried about time "I'll be back in two weeks Virgil. Don't worry, it's only a business trip."  
Virgil smiled and lost himself once more in the music he was playing, Jeff turned to his mother and spoke low to her so the others wouldn't hear.  
"Look after them mother, I'm going after the Hood, I don't want Kayo pursued by him anymore, I'm going to rid him from her."  
"Be careful Jefferson."  
"Just don't let them know of Kayo's secret, it would crush them. John already knows, but I need him to know so he can track the Hood."  
Grandma nodded and hugged her son gently "have a safe slight Jeff, and don't be gone too long."  
"I will, and be safe mother" Jeff smiled.  
Grandma patted his cheek "call in sometimes ok?"  
He laughed "alright" then he called out "boys, I'm off."  
The four came up from the sunken lounge and Virgil left the piano to walk over to his dad.  
Scott gave his dad a quick hug "see you soon dad, have a good trip."  
"And you look after Thunderbird 1 ok?" Jeff winked.  
"FAB."  
Jeff hugged Gordon and Virgil at the same time "Gordon, don't fight with Virgil ok? And Virgil, take care of yourself, you're strong but don't overdo it."  
"Yes dad" Virgil smirked as his dad lightly punched his arm in a friendly manner.  
"I never fight with Virgil dad" Gordon frowned.  
"Just look after each other, alright?" Jeff raised an eyebrow and Gordon nodded.  
"Do you want me to track you dad?" John asked coming forward.  
"No John. I don't need you to do that, just make sure I get clear of the base without any notice."  
John hugged his dad goodbye and smiled "be safe dad. I'll call you every now and again."  
The boys moved apart to let Alan run into Jeff's arms, the young teenager was scooped up and put down again.  
"Have a great trip dad, but don't stay away too long."  
Jeff ruffled his son's blonde hair "I won't son, I just need to sort some things out."  
Alan nodded "but if you're not back before my birthday."  
Scott rolled his eyes "Alan, your birthday was last month, dad will be back before next _year_."  
"Well, if you're not back before Virgil's birthday next month, there'll be trouble."  
Jeff smiled at Virgil who shook his head "alright Alan. Well, wish me luck."  
Jeff left the lounge and the boys went down to the pool to look over the runway and watch as the jet took to the skies, the skies were clear of traffic and the Tracy jet left the island without any problems, Gordon stripped off his shirt and dived into the pool along with Alan, whilst Virgil went back to the piano. Scott remained with John on the patio watching as the jet became a spot in the sky.  
"An unexplained, un-noted corporate meeting" Scott frowned.  
"Dad has done this before Scott, I wouldn't worry about it" John smiled "he'll be back before you realise he's gone" he checked his watch "right, I have to go back to Thunderbird 5, see you later."  
"Alright John, have a fun ride" Scott grinned.  
"Thanks, I'll report home when I've got to the station."  
"Fab" Scott squeezed his brother's shoulder then turned back to the ocean. The days went by and none of the boys had heard a single word from their father, Kayo had also been acting suspicious but no-one had picked up on it, then the worst happened. Scott and Virgil were watching TV in the study room when a news flash came up on the news, the headline read: "PRIVATE JET CRASH, PILOT UNKNOWN WHEREABOUTS." Scott almost felt Virgil freeze beside him and he called the rest of the family in.  
"Scott, that's dad's plane, that's our dad's plane" Virgil held his head in his hands and Scott wrapped an arm around him.  
"Shh Virgil. We don't know what happened. I'm sure if it is dad, he parachuted to safety. Shh calm down" Scott soothed and the others came in.  
"What's wrong Scott?" Gordon asked looking instantly towards Virgil who was still hiding his face.  
"TV headline" Scott indicted towards the TV where he had paused the image, Gordon went pale.  
"Dad? That's his plane. What's happened?"  
"I was waiting for you guys before continuing the programme."  
"Play it Scott, do it!" Alan almost hopped on the spot.  
The TV came to life again and the story continued, wreckage workers picked around the plane removing burnt clothes and fabric belonging to Jeff whilst a reporter noted how the plane went down, and what time.  
"How did John not get this?" Gordon frowned.  
"That's not John's fault Gordon" Brains sighed "this has happened very quickly."  
Gordon nodded "I'm sorry Brains, this is a bit of a shock that's all."  
Virgil looked up tearfully and Scott's heart froze, he hated seeing his brothers cry "what are we going to do?"  
Scott stood up "let's go to the lounge and discuss this properly. We'll link John into this straight away too."  
The family moved into the lounge where John was waiting for them, he looked very upset and Kayo bit her lip.  
"It's my fault. The one day I wasn't checking up on his signal."  
"It's not your fault John, we had other calls to deal with" Alan smiled.  
"But I should've been looking out. What happened anyway?"  
"It appears the jet lost power and went down. Mr Tracy wasn't in the cockpit, so it looks like he ejected" Brains adjusted his glasses.  
Grandma shook her head "oh Jeff, how many times have I told you to be careful?"  
John ran a hand through his fringe "is there anything we can do?"  
Scott narrowed his eyes slightly "we find out who caused dad's crash."  
"Scott, what makes you think it was deliberate?" Virgil asked sharing a confused look with Gordon.  
"Because dad has never crashed in his life, he was a pilot in the Airforce and went to space. 100% in flying experience, I just can't see him crashing."  
John nodded "I'm coming down, I want to look over that footage properly on the TV. See you in about ten minutes."  
"FAB John."  
The ten minutes passed silently spare the soft melody Virgil was playing to sooth everyone's nerves and sadness, Kayo sat with grandma feeling uneasy and the older woman put her arm around her, Scott looked up as he spotted the space elevator coming down and the pool opening.  
"John's home" Scott got up and decided to go and meet his brother in the hanger, he jogged down and met John as he left the pod.  
"Oh Scott. This is awful" John sighed and Scott noticed faint tear tracks on his brother's cheeks indicating John had been crying on the way home.  
Scott pulled him into a hug and kissed the top of his head "it's ok John. We'll find out what's happened to dad, I promise."  
John nodded tearfully "we will?"  
"Of course. Come on don't cry, we've gotta be strong" Scott smiled and wrapped his arm around John's shoulder leading him away from the elevator and back to the lounge.  
John sat on the couch with Virgil and brought up a hologram of the news cast of the crash into the centre of the table, he frowned slightly "with all that fuel burning, it looks like someone deliberately cut the lines. Or fired at Dad's jet."  
Scott frowned "fired?"  
"You mean like under attack?" Kayo asked "but no-one has reported anyone was in the area, anywhere for that matter?"  
"Also, that jet was in perfect condition, no loose wires or anything" Scott's eyes blazed with worry.  
"Are you sure there was no-one in the area?" Gordon asked.  
"Positive" John shook his head sadly "we're on our own now."  
"No! Dad will return, he's not gone. I refuse to accept that!" Alan cried and ran from the room, Gordon watched him leave sorrowfully.  
"I'll go and see if he's ok" Virgil closed his eyes but was held back by Gordon.  
"Let me go and get him Virgil, I've been through this after mum's death. I helped Alan then."  
Virgil smiled "ok Gordon."  
Gordon left the room and went off in the direction Alan had gone, it didn't take long to find him, he was in his room, lying face down on his pillow.  
"Ali, it's me, Gordon."  
"Leave me alone" a muffled voice answered through the fabric of the pillow.  
"Come on Alan, talk to me" Gordon sat down on the bed and rested his hand on Alan's shoulder, his brother shuddered slightly from light sobs.  
"It's like history is repeating itself, mum's dead, and now it looks like dad's joining her."  
Gordon's eyes filled with tears "listen to me Alan, dad is not dead ok? We'll find him."  
Alan lifted his head from the pillow "how will we find him? We've got nothing to go on."  
Gordon smiled "have I ever been wrong Ali?"  
Alan shook his head "I just wish we knew what had happened to him."  
"I know, but for now, we can't let this get in the way of our business."  
Alan's expression soured slightly "that's something Scott would say."  
Gordon smirked "better to hear it from me than from him though right?"  
Alan shrugged against Gordon's shoulder "I guess so."  
"Ready to join the others again?"  
Alan wiped his tears away "I guess so."  
Gordon helped his brother to his feet and they returned to the lounge, the others had spilt up around the room and grandma had gone downstairs with Kayo leaving Brains and the three eldest Tracys. Brains looked up at the youngest boys' arrival and smiled sympathetically, when he noticed Gordon's arm around Alan, he decided to subtly excuse himself.  
"I'm going to go down to the lab, I have some work to finish on your ship Gordon."  
"Thanks Brains, call me if you need my help at all" Gordon smiled and the scientist left the room.  
Alan looked down at his feet not wanting to look at his father's desk which only a few days ago had been occupied by Jeff, Gordon wrapped his arm around Alan's waist and pressed his head close to his brother, the three elder brothers saw what they were doing and moved into their hug, Gordon felt Scott's arm move across his back and settle on Virgil's shoulder who had his left arm around Alan's waist and the other around John's shoulder. Gordon and Alan found themselves crushed in between their brothers but positioned themselves within the hug. All five brothers had their heads together finally letting their emotions be shown to each other, and they stood in the lounge silently allowing tears to work their way down their cheeks.  
"He's just not dead, he can't be" Virgil sighed looking across to Scott.  
"We'll find him Virg, but for now we can't let the rescue business down. Dad would want us to carry on."  
"It won't be the same, you guys know that right?" John smiled tearfully squeezing Scott and Virgil's shoulders under his hands.  
Alan and Gordon nodded "we have grandma, we just need to be even tighter as a family" Gordon said looking up at Scott.  
The five brothers smiled at one another then broke out of the Tracy embrace, Virgil went to the piano and Gordon decided to join him, John sat on the couch with Alan, and Scott settled himself on the lounge ledge looking out at the ocean. Virgil began to play a piece their mother had written, it had also been a favourite of Jeff's, Gordon rested his head on Virgil's shoulder and Scott cupped his hands under his chin and listened to the music behind him, the others returned to the lounge and Kayo sat opposite John, she smiled at him but there was something in the smile which said she needed to talk to him in private, John nodded then looked back at the piano, the week had started off so well and now it had darkened, everyone was depressed, if someone called their organisation now, John feared no-one would go, or if they did, someone could not return, he looked round at the family with sorrow then got up, he ran a hand through Alan's hair gently then left the lounge, Kayo followed with a small smile to the others.  
Kayo caught up with John who was making his way to his dad's study, she followed him in.  
"You don't think dad's crash has anything to do with your uncle do you?" John asked sinking into a chair.  
"No, this seems too sophisticated for him. However, I'm not ruling him out of the situation completely" Kayo shrugged in defeat.  
John nodded "I hope we find out what's happened soon."  
Kayo smiled "yeah. John, I'm glad I can keep my secret known to one of you, it would destroy me having to hide it from all of you."  
"I understand. Don't worry Kayo, your secret is safe with me."  
"Thank you" Kayo stood up and kissed him on the cheek, she turned to leave then paused "and I'm sorry about what's happened to your dad."  
"Thanks Kayo" John smiled and he sat back in the chair.  
Kayo left and returned to the lounge, she looked around at the unhappy Tracys, Scott had his hands around Virgil shoulders and was resting his chin on his head, Gordon hadn't moved from his position but had an arm around Virgil's waist for balance, and Alan was curled up on the couch watching his brother at the piano, Kayo really hoped now that her uncle, The Hood, had nothing to do with Jeff Tracy's crash.

 ** _A/N: so that was long but sweet, the image of the hug can be found on tumblr under the name Madilayn, it's very cute :)_**


End file.
